Modi declines request for interaction with industry leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declined the state government's request to interact with industry leaders as a curtain-raiser for Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) during his visit on November 11.

Modi is scheduled to visit Bengaluru to open the 108-foot statue of Bengaluru founder Kempegowda (Statue of Prosperity), inaugurate the second terminal of the Kempegowda International Airport and flag off south India's first Vande Bharat train between Chennai and Mysuru via Bengaluru.

The state government had planned to squeeze in an interaction between Modi and corporate honchos at the airport. The BTS is scheduled to be held between November 16 and 18.

"The summit is happening later. What is the logic of this (interaction) programme?" Modi asked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at a video conference to take stock of events lined up on November 11. "We want you to inaugurate (BTS), but your dates aren't available," Bommai pointed out.

"That event is different. By giving it the name of the event and holding it at the airport, how useful is that?" Modi is heard asking. "Secondly, I used to come to this summit when I was chief minister also. If I can't make it physically on that day, I can do it on video. It's better to do it on that day itself. If I'm not in the country, then I can send a recorded message also," Modi said, adding that it "definitely" would not sit well with the other events.

The BTS, a flagship event, will enter its 25th year. Earlier known as BangaloreIT.com, the summit was first held in 1998. It was renamed later as BangaloreIT.in.